1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method and system for screening media segments. More specifically, this invention relates to associating feedback from at least one screener with a media segment received from at least one originator to obtain associated feedback and providing the associated feedback back to the originator.
2. Discussion of the Background
Screening involves the viewing of media segments on computer screens by stakeholders, such as producers, coordinators, managers or clients (among others). The purpose of screening is to enable review and approval by producers, coordinators, managers, and clients (hereafter “stakeholders”) for subsequent integration into an animated production. One purpose of screening is so that the stakeholders can guarantee that media segments received from remote artists (e.g., artists not located at a central facility) satisfy the requirements of the initial project as supplied to each artist. Additionally, the stakeholders review the media segments for sufficient quality and to make sure that the media segments fit seamlessly within the total animation production.
In the past, screeners reviewed media segments individually, without interacting with other screeners. Alternatively, multiple screeners may be used in a cooperative screening process. However, when multiple screeners are used, the screeners are generally located in a single physical facility, thereby enabling physical cooperation.
Screeners may obtain physical media (such as, for a non-limiting example, a digital versatile disc (DVD) mini-disc DV tape, or a video CD) through a physical delivery means such as mail or overnight package delivery. However, these and other methods of physical media delivery are time consuming and expensive.
Alternatively, current methods for transmission of media segments over the Internet may be used, but these methods usually involve file transfer protocol (FTP) or streaming media segments. FTP requires the transmission of the entire file before the media may be screened. Streaming media segments permits viewing by the intended receiver as the content originates from an appropriate server across the network.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, originator #1—originator #N, such as artists, FTP data to a central screening room server 1, and screener #1—screener #X access the central screening room server 1 over a network, such as the LAN 3 or internet 4, to download the contents of the central screening room server 1 to their computer. Screener #1—screener #X then use a media player, such as, for a non-limiting example, QuesTime, RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, or the like to display the media segments downloaded from the central screening room server 1 on their individual computers. Once the screeners have screened the media segments, comments regarding the segments and the segments are subsequently uploaded by the screeners to the central screening room server 1 for further action by the originator #1—originator #N (such as revision) and/or for storing in a centrally located media storage device 2 for downstream processing, archival, and incorporation into the media production.
The current method of screening using FTP suffers many disadvantages. While the Internet is used for electronic transmission of content and FTP is employed, media segments may encounter transmission delays due to insufficient bandwidth and poor quality of service, for example. The problems associated with the transmission delays and quality of service are exaggerated when dealing with media segments since there is an extremely large amount of data involved with transmitting media segments and there is a need for the guaranteed delivery of the entire contents of the media segment. These problems render FTP relatively inefficient for use with high resolution multimedia segments. High resolution multimedia segments used in the animation production environments are very large because compression cannot be used since compression causes loss of data content.
Where it is desired that multiple screeners view media segments together, the multiple screeners must be connected to a common LAN with a central screening room server. Otherwise, screeners do not have the necessary equipment or facilities for coordinating the viewing activity, and will not be able to interact meaningfully based on specific portions of the media to be screened.
Current methods also require a homogeneous computing environment for screener devices, and the central screening room server assumes a common operating system and media player across all users. Without these assumptions, it is difficult to synchronize the playing of media segments encoded for various media players, and the visual impact presented by each brand of media player (or even a version of the media player) is unique, which results in a different viewing experience even for identical media segments for each screener.
Moreover, current methods for associating screener comments and content are not formalized. Informal methods (e.g., voice communication), associated text files, or scribbled notes are used to communicate with the originators. These informal methods require subsequent processing to accomplish uniformity so that an aggregate view may be presented with organized comments that can be used for subsequent corrective action, as necessary.